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Smile (bank)
Encyclopedia
Smile, or smile.co.uk, is a British
internet bank, and a trading division of The Co-operative Bank. It was established as the UK's first full internet bank in 1999. Other banks, like Egg
and First-e, had opened in previous years but Smile was the first to offer full-service current account
s, savings, ISA
s, investments and credit card
s. The bank's principal offices are located in the King's Valley Pyramid building in Stockport.
The Co-operative Bank is a subsidiary
of The Co-operative Group
, a consumer co-operative.
Member customers of the Co-operative Group own the business and elect members of regional committees and directors from among their number.
They receive a regular dividend
payment related to their use of Smile accounts.
The Co-operative Bank operates an ethical banking
policy, screening potential business customers against its standards, such as links with tobacco, the arms trade, and animal testing of cosmetics.
Since 2001, the bank has consulted Smile customers in its regular reviews of this policy.
The Co-operative Bank turned away £10 million of business because of their ethical policy during 2005.
Smile was the first UK online bank to be accredited with the ISO27001
Information Security certification. It has received several industry and consumer and ethical awards.
The bank was launched to TV adverts featuring the song Smile by The Supernaturals
.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
internet bank, and a trading division of The Co-operative Bank. It was established as the UK's first full internet bank in 1999. Other banks, like Egg
Egg Banking plc
Egg Banking plc is a British internet bank owned by Citigroup, with headquarters in Derby and London, England. Egg was born out of Prudential's initial banking arm , that had been established in 1996...
and First-e, had opened in previous years but Smile was the first to offer full-service current account
Current account
In economics, the current account is one of the two primary components of the balance of payments, the other being the capital account. The current account is the sum of the balance of trade , net factor income and net transfer payments .The current account balance is one of two major...
s, savings, ISA
Individual Savings Account
An Individual Savings Account is a financial product available to residents in the United Kingdom. It is designed for the purpose of investment and savings with a favourable tax status. Money is contributed from after tax income and not subjected to income tax or capital gains tax within a holding...
s, investments and credit card
Credit card
A credit card is a small plastic card issued to users as a system of payment. It allows its holder to buy goods and services based on the holder's promise to pay for these goods and services...
s. The bank's principal offices are located in the King's Valley Pyramid building in Stockport.
Subsidiary
A subsidiary company, subsidiary, or daughter company is a company that is completely or partly owned and wholly controlled by another company that owns more than half of the subsidiary's stock. The subsidiary can be a company, corporation, or limited liability company. In some cases it is a...
of The Co-operative Group
The Co-operative Group
The Co-operative Group Ltd. is a United Kingdom consumer cooperative with a diverse range of business interests. It is co-operatively run and owned by its members. It is the largest organisation of this type in the world, with over 5.5 million members, who all have a say in how the business is...
, a consumer co-operative.
Member customers of the Co-operative Group own the business and elect members of regional committees and directors from among their number.
They receive a regular dividend
Dividend
Dividends are payments made by a corporation to its shareholder members. It is the portion of corporate profits paid out to stockholders. When a corporation earns a profit or surplus, that money can be put to two uses: it can either be re-invested in the business , or it can be distributed to...
payment related to their use of Smile accounts.
The Co-operative Bank operates an ethical banking
Ethical banking
An ethical bank, also known as a social, alternative, civic, or sustainable bank, is a bank concerned with the social and environmental impacts of its investments and loans. Ethical banks are part of a larger societal movement toward more social and environmental responsibility in the financial...
policy, screening potential business customers against its standards, such as links with tobacco, the arms trade, and animal testing of cosmetics.
Since 2001, the bank has consulted Smile customers in its regular reviews of this policy.
The Co-operative Bank turned away £10 million of business because of their ethical policy during 2005.
Smile was the first UK online bank to be accredited with the ISO27001
ISO/IEC 27001
ISO/IEC 27001, part of the growing ISO/IEC 27000 family of standards, is an Information Security Management System standard published in October 2005 by the International Organization for Standardization and the International Electrotechnical Commission...
Information Security certification. It has received several industry and consumer and ethical awards.
The bank was launched to TV adverts featuring the song Smile by The Supernaturals
The Supernaturals
The Supernaturals were a five-piece guitar based pop band from Glasgow, Scotland. Fronted by singer-songwriter James McColl, they signed to Parlophone in 1996, and had a string of singles which were taken from their three albums and four EPs. Other members included Mark Guthrie, Derek McManus and...
.